To think the UK has gone to hell in a handcart?

Few points:

I agree about the press and ‘their’ version of events. There is absolutely no factual reporting- it’s all done to create a reaction from us.

Don't forget that Good News doesn’t sell.

We are continually (hourly) fed information that verges on the disengenuous. No wonder we feel like this.

Certainly since Brexit, we’ve become a very inward looking country. I don’t often feel like I have a good handle on how the rest of Europe is faring. You get snippets, but you have to search quite hard in the broadsheets and tabloids. (Rest is Politics is a good way of covering global issues, I know)

Lastly, I also feel there are no morals and no accountability for those in power.
I have always felt that if you’re going to lead our country, then you should always lead by example. A moral example.

Im nearly at a point in life when I could actively choose to go and live elsewhere. As each year passes, my desire gets stronger. I’m busy researching options.

They really weren't. A lot of what they got away with went under the radar.

Indeed! No one is saying there wasn’t corruption and scandal in the past, it’s that in the past politicians were much more likely to face the consequence's of their actions

@Boomer55 what does the title of a novel have to do with this discussion? We all know the saying "to hell in a handcart" is not new, so not surprising that there is a novel by that name.

I’ve been hearing that the UK is going to hell in a handcart for decades. We’ve never actually got there:

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/to-hell-in-a-handcart-richard-littlejohn

And if those other Royal Families were accepting suitcases full of cash, I would also condemn them.
It is all about an erosion in acceptable behaviour. Queen Elizabeth would not have behaved this way, but King Charles does.

Yes indeed I have and in my book it is all wrong. We were however talking about the British establishment. The British Empire was the biggest the world has ever seen. It covered one quarter of the Globe. Other countries' colonial power pales almost into insignificance. Charles inherited £650 million in private wealth from his mother bringing his disclosed net worth to around £2 billion. That of course is only the tip of the iceberg as the Royal Family's true portfolio has (and never will be) fully disclosed. I wonder why.

The Belgium, Swedish and even the Spanish Royal family (despite their displays of bling) can only dream of this sort of money.

I assume it is all Conservative party supporters who are pretending that there has always been naked corruption by governments with no consequences. And it is simply not true.
All I want at this point is a government that is competent and non corrupt. At one time we would have taken that for granted.

I agree with the points about Labour but I will 100% be marching down to vote Labour any day. I think most of us are just saying let's not be naive to how they will operate.

I agree entirely with the post that Tories must be punished for what they've done. They behave as if they are untouchable. Terrifying.

I know about them. That is not corruption. They had a secret gay affair and planned to murder who was going to expose them.
That is bad but it was not covered up. There were very clear consequences. Jeremy Thorpe stood trial in a criminal court and was found not guilty. But he was politically exiled.
We are talking about wrong doing that is covered up and people get away with in plain sight. Today a modern day Thorpe would not face a criminal trial and would remain an MP.
It is simply not true that it has always been like this.

It’s nothing new. looking at history hasn’t it always been this way except now we hear about it quickly and constantly. I imagine we could quickly triple your list too.

@NoisySnail , look up John Stonehouse and Jeremy Thorpe. Things were bad back then.

@Corinthiana although 1974 was calculated by some research to be the year people were the happiest in Britain. And house prices and rents were not sky high.

@feellikeanalien while all that is true in the 1970s, we still had a conservative party that was elected and went on to sack an MP for having an affair and a child and lying about it. I can not imagine that happening now.
We also had Queen Elizabeth who would never have accepted suitcases full of cash as King Charles has.
There have always been business people who behave corruptly if given the chance, but now it extends to our government and even the Royal Family.

@feellikeanalien oh my god, the 70s. I wouldn't care to live through that again. IRA bombing campaigns, 3 day week, blackouts, strikes, high inflation, shortages. Awful.

Calm down? Patronising pillock.

Oh my god - have you seen the tiaras and other jewellery that the Swedish and Danish royals have? Their palaces? How the Belgian royals live, benefitting from that Empire centered on the very lucrative Congo? The Spanish royals - look at King Carlos, also a big Empire, the Netherlands, similar - have you seen their jewellery and palaces?.The wealth of the Monaco Prince?.....

I was listening to The Rest is History podcast about the UK in the 70s the other day. Things were pretty grim then. The Troubles in NI, the bombings on the British mainland, strikes, three day week, inflation, power cuts. Housing conditions were grim for a lot of people, some didn't even have inside toilets.

Britain was regarded as the "sick man of Europe". Manufacturing was disappearing and the pound was in freefall.

I think we go through cycles and this is also affected by world events. Big business has always scratched politicians backs and vice versa. There have always been scandals, Jeremy Thorpe, David Mellor, Robert Maxwell and the Mirror pension fund to name but a few. There have also been good times and I think people who have lived through those always think that things will continue to get better.

I also think social media has a lot to answer for in creating discontent and the use of algorithms means that our feelings are constantly reinforced and we often don't see the other side of things. People are also less willing to listen to other opinions which may be different to theirs and tend to see things more in black and white. This has also lead to a lot more abuse and threats to politicians which may affect the decision of those who want enter politics to do good but feel that the downside is not worth it.

Every age has it challenges and although there is no doubt that things are not great in many ways in the UK I don't think that this is an unusual occurrence.

Well then that's a self-fulfilling prophesy. If all you want to do about it is complain on MN then I guess you will always be disappointed that things just keep getting worse. 'Everything's shit but I'm not going to be the one to do anything about it, I'll just moan about it and say how everyone else should be doing better. When challenged I'll say there's no point in me doing anything it's a lost cause'

I don't deny the things you've written about, but your attitude seems to be the exact thing you're complaining about. No accountability.

I think they may not be very effective, and since the Tories seem to be in crash and burn mode ( spending money we don't have on tax cuts and taking Labour policies like the non dom status and using the money for electioneering tax cuts, meaning Labour then won't be able to use that same money on things they said they were going to use it for like infrastructure projects). But basically the Tories need to be punished, and punished pretty badly for what they have done to the country. Otherwise they will have got away with it and will get worse. Labour only need to do one thing- realign ourselves with EU trade rules- and the economy will improve. They don't have the Brexiteer headbangers to contend with and they haven't got the awful reputation that the Tories have in the EU.

I wonder what exactly can we plebs do about it? I'm fervently anti conservative but then think, will my vote and a change of government improve things I cite above or address the issues you have raised.

I fear that Labour will prove to be ineffectual, I have little faith in Starmer. Maybe not as corrupt as the Tories but if they don’t have the clout, I wonder how much change there will actually be.

I agree. I believe strongly that the way most of these elite type buffoons were raised ( boarding school, nanny as mummy) means a high proportion, including Boris are likely sociopathic or narcissist. They therefore will have no understanding or empathy whatsoever with any of us. Yet people seem to be mesmerised by their posh voices and posh suits. I don't get it.

I agree OP. I've been feeling this way for a long time. As someone who sadly is at the mercy of systems like the NHS and social support, I absolutely despair at the fact we are getting less and less, being fobbed off and treated appallingly. I know it's a bit of a tangent but I often feel utterly powerless at the predicament we plebs are in regards doing anything about it whilst being worked to the bone and taxed for the pleasure.

I wonder what exactly can we plebs do about it? I'm fervently anti conservative but then think, will my vote and a change of government improve things I cite above or address the issues you have raised.

An example of how it could be different. Last year the portguese prime minister Antonio costa resigned because an investigation started into allegations of corruption this is what he said

Although he proclaimed his innocence, Costa said the gravity of the charges driving the investigation were “incompatible with the dignity of the office.”

so yes there is corruption elsewhere but unlike here the prime minister resigned recognising that the prime minister has to be above suspicion

contrast that with the behaviour of politicians here who show no remorse, integrity or understanding when they’re caught red handed being corrupt let alone being accused of it

This x 10000000 ...... what on earth ?! Where is his sense of responsibility in his role in public office. This country is being run into the ground.